Fabric take-off device for full fashioned knitting machines



Sept. 22, 1931. E. RICHTER 1,324,501 FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVIE FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 4. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l Illa-.1-

A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 22, 1931. RlcHTER 1,824,501

FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 4. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 22, 1931.

E. RICHTER FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 4. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN T OR: 12m 1 1mm, BY

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- EMIL RICHTER, OF WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO TEXTILE MACHINE WORKS, OF WYOMISSIN G, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA FABRIO TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Application filed September 4, 1930. Serial No. 479,630.

This invention relates to straight knitting machines, and more particularly to the fabric take-off means therefor; the primary object being to provide novel fabric take-ofi' means for such machines which reciprocatively moves the fabric being knitted in correspondence with the similarly operated set.

of needles so as to maintain a continuously uniform tension on the fabric, necessary'to the production of perfect loop formations.

The invention comprises the novel ele ments, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship as herein fully set forth by the followin detailed description and accompanying rawings of one embodiment thereof, reference to which will make the above as well as other objects and attendant advantages more readily apparent.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a partial front elevational view of one knitting section of a well known full fashioned knitting machine, showing my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the knitting section partly illustrated in Fig. 1, taken substantially as indicated by the arrows 22 on said figure.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but taken as indicated by the arrow 3-3 on Fig. 1.

In the drawings 5 indicates a set of knitting needles, 6 the needle bar on which two such sets are ordinarily mounted and which is fixed to a bracket 7 pivotally secured at 8'to a link 9 in turn detachably connected at 10 to a needle bar rocker arm 11 pivoted on a fixed shaft 12, and provided with a roller 13 which cooperates with a cam 14 on map chine cam shaft 15. The elements just described provide for usual periodic reciprocation of the needle bar in a horizontal direction, forward and rearward,

Pivotally secured to a needle bar bracket 16 is a lever 17, 17a which is fulcrumed on a fixedly mounted shaft 18 and also provided with a cam roller 19 that cooperates with cam 20 to periodically move the needle bar in a vertical direction. Anchored springs 21 and 22 connected to the lower extremities of rocker arm 11 and the lever 17 respectively, function to constantly maintain the cam rollggsl? and 19 in contact with the cams 14 and The mechanism so far set forth is old and well known and forms no part of my invention except in so far as it is used in combination and cooperation with the fabric take-off mechanism later described.

Ordinarily, as in the so called leggers, the fabric take-off device comprises a rotary shaft 23 which is operated in well known manner by a weight connected thereto by a rope (not shown) and on which as many fabric take-off rollers 24 are secured as there areneedle bars; fabric attaching means being generally connected with each take-off roll 24in the form of straps 25 provided with hooks 26 at their outer ends, adapted to hold a rod 27 that passes through the welt 28 of the stocking fabric or web 29.

In order to prevent the exertion of periodic stretching strains on the fabric during movement of needles 5 through their cycle of operation, various spring arrangements have heretofore been incorporated, either directly in the rollers 24, to permit them to turn slightly under tension, or in the straps 25 to pprmit them to give under similar conditions.

owever, it will be apparent that such spring arrangements when used alone are bound to cause an excessive amount of strain or tension in the delicate silk fabric, which is obviously undesirable.

In order to avoid such straining of the fabric, I have provided novel take-off means To this end, I provide a toothed wheel or 1 gear 31 on the take-off shaft 23, and a cooperative rack member 32 on an arm 33 which is pivotally mounted on a rack lever 34 having a roller 35 secured to its lower end in engagement with a rotary disk 36. A s ring 30 attached to levers 33 and 37 holds rol er 35 I a machine rod 43. The pivotal connection of lever 34 to the slotted end of lever 37 provides for desirable adjustment of lever 34, and lever 33 carried by the latter, so as to permit variation in the action of rack 32.

It will be noted that cams 14 and 41 are of the same generalconfiguration. As already mentioned, cam 14 reciprocates the needle bar 6 in a horizontal direction. A similar but vertical movement is imparted by cam 41 to rack 32 which is thereby brought into engagement with and actuates gear 31, and with it rotates shaft 23 and take-ofl rollers 24. The latter transmit the reciprocative inovement to the fabrics 29 and move them horizontally in unison with the needle bar 6, such movement keeping a constant takeup tension by rollers 24 and reventing added strain on the needles and fabric stretching heretofore produced by the needle movement.

From Fig. 2, it will be noted that rack 32 and gear 31 are normally disengaged and only coact during reciprocative movement of the needles. In order to hold the rack 32 in constant engagement with gear 31 during operation, and without undue pressure during vertical movement of the rack, the rack arm 33 is yi'eldingly held against lever 34 by a tension spring 44 whose ends are attached to these parts; an adjustable screw bolt 36 on arm 33 which normally abuts the head of a bolt head 40 on a lever 34, being provided to normally maintain rack 32 and gear 33 in disengaged and spaced relationship.

During the narrowing operation of the machine the fabric 29 must e slackened to relieve theloop pull on the needles so use) facilitate shifting desired loops to adjacent needles, as Well understood in the art, and in order to throw the narrowing mechanism into operation cam shaft 15 is shifted to the right in Fig. 1. Such action causes roller 35 to move from cam 36 and to coact with a newly presented cam 45 which has a slight rise 46 that provides sufiicient additional motion to the lever 34 through roller 35, and at the proper time to bring about the desired slack in the fabric 29, without changing its synchronized reciprocative movement with the needle bar 6. The needle bar 6, during such narrowing operation, remains at rest to facilitate loop transfer by the usual transfer points as heretofore and well understood, so that rack movement by rise 46 releasesthe fabric tension to provide slack for the loop transfers.

The shaft 23 on which take-off rolls 24 are mounted, extends over the entire length of the machine and it will readily be understood that in order to facilitate its turnin as and for the purpose described, and to re ieve any straining action, two or more such racking mechanisms may be provided to act simultaneously at various points of the shaft.

Of course, the fabric take-oflt' device shown and described can be changed and modified in various ways without departin from the invention herein disclosed an hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a straight knitting machine, a reciprocatively operated set of needles for roducing a knitted fabric, tension take-o means for the latter and means for varying the tension during the needle reciprocations so as to exert a constantly uniform fabric tension on the needles.

2. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles for producing a knitted fabric; of fabric take-off tension means including a flexible fabric connecting member, and means for reciprocatively moving the member in correspondence with the needle reciprocations so as to maintain a constantly uniform tension on said member.

3. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles for producing a knitted fabric; take-ofi' means for the latter comprising a flexible fabric connecting member and a takeoff roll, and means for turning said roll in reverse directions to reciprocatively move the fabric connecting member in correspondence with the needle reciprocations.

4. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles, and a fabric take-off roll normally turned in one direction; of a flexible fabric connecting member attached to said roll, and means for imparting reverse movements to the roll to reciprocatively move the member in correspondence with theneedle reciprocations.

5. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles for producing a knitted fabric; of a shaft, afabric take-ofi' roll on said shaft, fabric connecting means attached to the roll, and a gear wheel on said shaft, a rack mounted so as to be movable into and out of engagement with said gear wheel, and means for actuating said rack to impart reciprocative movements to the fabric connecting means in correspondence with the set of needles.

6. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles for producing a knitted fabric; of a shaft, a fabric take-ofi' roll on said shaft, fabric connecting means attached to the roll, a gear wheel on said shaft, a rack mounted so as to be movable into and out of engagement with said gear wheel, and cam means for actuating the rack to impart reciprocative movements to the fabric connecting means in correspondence with the set of needles.

7. In a straight knitting machine, the combination with a reciprocatively operated set of needles for producing a knitted fabric; of a shaft; a fabric take-off roll on said shaft,

fabric connecting means attached to the roll,. v

a gear wheel on said shaft, a rack mounted so as to be movable into and out of engagement with said gear wheel, cam means for actuating the rack to impart reciprocative movements to the fabric connecting means in correspondence with the set of needles, and means to vary the rack movements.

8. In combination with a full-fashioned knitting machine having a set of needles, a fabric take-01f tension means, and a cam shaft, of cams on said shaft adapted to reciprocate said needles and compensatively operate said take-ofi' means so as to maintain a constantly equalized tension take-off} 9. In combination with a full-fashioned knitting machine having a set of needles, a fabric take-off tension means, and a longitudinally shiftable cam shaft, of cams on said shaft adapted in one position of the latter to simultaneously reciprocate said needles and compensatively operate said take-off means so as tomaintain an equalized tension take-off, and in another position of said shaft to release said tension.

10. In combination with a full fashioned knitting machine having a set of needles, a

fabric take-off shaft normally rotatable in one direction, and a longitudinally shiftable cam shaft, of cams on said shaft adapted in one position of the latter to reciprocatively operate said needles and correspondingly reversely rotate said take-u shaft to exert a constant fabric tension, an in another position of said shaft to reversely' rotate said take-up shaft only so as to release said fabric tension.

In testimony whereof I aflix m signature.

EMIL R CHTER. 

